Giulia Bellinetti has won the 2024 Marc Cornelissen Brightlands Award. After giving her pitch on the collection and exchange of sustainable materials, the jury, chaired by Maurits Groen, pronounced her the winner. Province of Limburg Deputy Stephan Satijn (Economy, Finance, Operations, Public Affairs) presented her with the trophy and a cash prize of 35,000 euros.
The audience in the Brightlands Maastricht Health Campus room at the MECC was composed of researchers, students, entrepreneurs, politicians, administrators and representatives of the four Brightlands campuses.
The honor fell to Bellinetti, born in Udine, Italy, for her Future Materials program, an initiative that collects and identifies materials that can be used to develop sustainable products. These materials include human hair, concrete waste, sawdust, urine and organic matter. She developed this initiative at the Jan van Eyck Academy in Maastricht, where she has been the coordinator of the Nature Research division and the Future Materials Lab since 2021. This foundation enabled her to elevate her idea to a higher, global platform.
“This is amazing recognition for us”, Bellinetti said. “But also for the four hundred makers, artists and designers who are currently working with us to promote circularity. We’ve been working on this for years and can now turn it into a business model.”
Promoting circularity
Giulia Bellinetti and her team passionately believe that a circular society can only succeed if everyone assumes their responsibility. For them, this means that science, technology, business, policymakers and the creative sector must bundle their strengths in the Future Materials Lab. A sustainable entrepreneur and activist himself, jury chairman Maurits Groen likened it to the rise of the traditional libraries where knowledge was collected and shared. “These libraries transformed the world dramatically at the time. Future Materials aims to create a digital marketplace where people can exchange ideas and materials to help make the world more sustainable.”
In addition to Maurits Groen, the jury was comprised of Marc’s sister Ellen Cornelissen; Astrid Boeijen, CEO of Brightlands Chemelot Campus; Willem Evers, division head of Circular Economy for the Ministry of Infrastructure and Water Management; Arnold Stokking, director of Brightsite; and Milan Meyberg, winner of the 2023 Marc Cornelissen Brightlands Award.
Other finalists
Originally from Thailand, Billy Kuper was the first to pitch his plans. With his company Closist, he wants to tackle waste in the textile industry. Through several apps, he wants to encourage the general public to buy less clothing and reuse or repair more items to reduce waste.
Man Yong Toh from Rotterdam explained how he believes he can transform the carbon black industry. Based in Rotterdam, his company Aeroborn has developed a technology that converts CO2 into a sustainable substitute for carbon black, among other products. This product is crucial to the manufacture of tires, cables and concrete. Carbon black is normally produced by burning oil. Aeroborn has come up with an alternative that captures CO2 from polluting industries. The startup is already building a pilot plant that will become operational in 2025.
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